Sakura Pavilion open at Japanese House and Garden in Philadelphia

Walk alongside Kim Andrews, executive director of the Friends of the Japanese House and Garden, and she’ll proudly tell you that this historic site nestled in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park is the third-ranked Japanese Garden in all of North America.

Sadly, it’s a site people tend to forget about in those blustery cold months of winter.

But, with the addition of the brand-new Sakura Pavilion — now open at the Shofuso Japanese House and Garden — this gem will be made accessible to visitors year-round.

“We’ll have more flexibility,” said Andrews. “We will be able to accommodate guests across the seasons.”

The two outbuildings — put there as bathrooms during the 1876 Centennial Exposition — will be home to classes on Japanese tea ceremonies, workshops on Ikabana — the art of Japanese flower arranging — and serve as an exhibition space. One of the buildings can also be used as a staging area for weddings, Andrews said. The second building, earmarked for storage, will eventually be turned into a bathroom in the near future.

“We disappear in the winter. Now we can offer something throughout the year,” she said.

“It’s going to be a godsend,” said Derek Finn, site manager. “We’re very excited about this.”

Located just 50 yards away from Shofuso Japanese House and Gardens, the two fully restored buildings will include a small Japanese garden — a more naturalized Japanese garden — of existing Japanese maple trees.

“They (the buildings) are physical anchors of our history here,” Andrews said.

The area where the Japanese House stands today has been home to a Japanese structure and garden almost continuously since the 1876 Centennial Exposition. It was the site of the first Japanese garden in North America. In 1955, a fire destroyed the Japanese structure there at the time.

“The fire burned for three days. The building burned to the ground,” she said.

Shofuso, which means house or villa, was commissioned to be built in Japan in 1953 “to be contained inside New York’s Museum of Modern Art’s courtyard,” from 1954 to 1955, Andrews said. It was an extremely popular exhibit.

“A million and a half people went through it,” she said.

After the exhibit closed, it was dismantled with no place for it to go.

A few private collectors from California wanted to own it, but keeping it on the East Coast would be an ideal solution. With a Japanese garden already in place at Fairmount Park, and the building there destroyed by fire just a few years earlier, Philadelphia was the perfect place for the house.

“So Philly got Shofuso in 1957,” Andrews said.

Shofuso was built to resemble an authentic 17th century Japanese estate home owned by a very wealthy landowner.

“It probably would’ve been a guest house,” Andrews said.

The house was designed for indoor-outdoor living. The home opens up to the beautiful pond and garden on a hill. It’s a very green garden with few flowering plants and trees, Andrews said.

Inside, the walls are covered in beautiful fusama murals painted by renowned Japanese artist Hiroshi Senju.

“He painted 20 murals for us called ‘Waterfalls’ in 2007,” she said.

The floors are covered in tatami mats made of rice straw. They are easy on bare feet, but not overly warm, Andrews said.

“It does get chilly in here,” she added. “People would normally retreat to smaller rooms to keep warm.”

Authentic Japanese tea ceremonies are held inside the historic building with two planned for this month. The tea room fits six people comfortably, Andrews said while kneeling in the small room.

“In this room, people don’t stand up. I mean, we do, but in Japan, they wouldn’t,” she said.

She pointed out that the tea served during the ceremonies is traditional as well.

“It’s a powered green tea called Matcha,” she said. “It’s bright green and whipped in with a whisk. It’s quite pleasant. It’s a very not-Western taste, but it’s pleasant.”

Before receiving a grant of $184,300 to help restore the two outbuildings, the whole Sakura Pavilion area was in a state of “complete disrepair.”

It took another $500,000 to renovate both buildings inside and out, Andrews said.

If you go: Shofuso Japanese House and Garden, Horticultural and Lansdowne drives, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, is open on weekends for Cherry Blossom season in April, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Starting May 1, Shofuso opens for a full season, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for students, seniors and children (3 to 18.) For more information call, 215-878-5097 or visit, www.shofuso.com.